Training the next generation of physician scientists in rare disease research is essential for ongoing discovery and clinical care for those afflicted with primary immunodeficiency, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and a host of other chronic suppurative respiratory diseases. The career enhancement core for the Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Consortium (GDMCC) is poised to meet this challenge with a structured plan to recruit, involve, mentor, train, and mold trainees and early career investigators into adept and successful rare disease researchers. The overall goal of the GDMCC career enhancement core is to provide trainees with an outstanding environment to acquire the research, clinical, and professional skills needed to lead productive academic research careers in rare airways disorders. To accomplish this, the core will provide state-of-the-art learning opportunities for trainees, while leveraging and building with our partner stakeholder organizations to ensure academic advancement. Four specific and structured aims underpin this core program: (1) Engaging a diverse group of GDMCC and partner organization trainees in clinical and translational research involving rare respiratory disorders, (2) Providing trainees with unique learning activities and networking opportunities in rare disease that are not available in currently funded training programs, (3) Providing structured mentoring and oversight of trainees and early career investigators, with regular benchmarking of their academic progress, and (4) Providing authorship opportunities on major research publications and mentored leadership positions on pilot research projects in rare respiratory disease. These aims will allow the GDMCC to successfully train the next generation of rare respiratory disease researchers. The structured plan behind each aim will equip trainees and early-career investigators with a robust academic foundation upon which they can build careers of research and innovation to benefit patients suffering from rare respiratory diseases.